Subject
query re _Bend Sinister_
Date
Body
Sergey Il'yn <isb@glas.apc.org> sends an inquiry re a
passage in the middle of Chapter V of BEND SINISTER wherein Krug recalls
his schooldays with Paduk and recounts some of the latter's budding
ideology.
The line is:
"Indeed, so broadminded was he that he positively *wanted* the
richer boys to form strongly capitalistic clusters, or the sons of
reactionary nobles to keep in tune with their caste
and unite in "Rutterheds". (p. 64 in the Life-Time edition).
In Sergei Il'yin's Penguin edition, the spelling (very likely a
misprint) is "Rutterbeds." The meaning is fairly clear from the context,
but does anyone have a plausible etymology for "Rutterheds"?
------------------------------------
EDITOR's GUESS:
My snap guess is that "Rutterhed" is based on "brotherhood" with
the dropped B leading to the punning "RUTerheds", i.e., HEADs in the same
RUT. If right, this English-based coinage differs in its origin from most
words in the local tongue which are based on Germanic & Slavic roots. But
then, of course, English is Germanic in origin.
passage in the middle of Chapter V of BEND SINISTER wherein Krug recalls
his schooldays with Paduk and recounts some of the latter's budding
ideology.
The line is:
"Indeed, so broadminded was he that he positively *wanted* the
richer boys to form strongly capitalistic clusters, or the sons of
reactionary nobles to keep in tune with their caste
and unite in "Rutterheds". (p. 64 in the Life-Time edition).
In Sergei Il'yin's Penguin edition, the spelling (very likely a
misprint) is "Rutterbeds." The meaning is fairly clear from the context,
but does anyone have a plausible etymology for "Rutterheds"?
------------------------------------
EDITOR's GUESS:
My snap guess is that "Rutterhed" is based on "brotherhood" with
the dropped B leading to the punning "RUTerheds", i.e., HEADs in the same
RUT. If right, this English-based coinage differs in its origin from most
words in the local tongue which are based on Germanic & Slavic roots. But
then, of course, English is Germanic in origin.